The Food Labs Step by Step Guide to Smoking a Turkey. Juicy turkey with sweet smoke flavor and a spice rub. Photographs J. Kenji Lpez AltThanksgiving is far and away my favorite holiday, but this year marks a new twist in the family fun Its the first Thanksgiving that my wife, Adri, and I are hosting, and the first Thanksgiving that my family is celebrating away from the East Coast. Thats right The Alts are coming to California, and wed better make it extra special for them. Are there really some lucky people out there who can easily quit smoking cold turkey And what can we learn from themIve been trying to figure out exactly what were going to do with the turkey this year. With much better access to outdoor space than in my moms New York apartment and its 4. I figured something that took advantage of the yard would be in order. Rather than make my traditional spatchcocked roast turkey, this year were going to deep fry at least one and slow smoke another. Turkey and smoke are a natural pairing, as anyone whos looked at a deli case can tell you, but theres a difference between cold cut smoked turkey, with its ham like cured texture and questionable smoke flavor, and real barbecued turkey. Im talking the kind of smoked turkey you want served in thick, glistening slabs that are shiny with juice and fork tender, with deep smoke flavor. Your odds of successfully quitting cold turkey depend on your personality, daily habits, and the extent of your addiction. PRISCILLA DE CASTRO In a way, going cold. How to Smoke a Turkey. Smoking is a great alternative outdoor cooking method to grilling. Smoking a turkey, though not a task for the impatient cook, is a. Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Its that time of year where everyone starts looking for new turkey recipes for the holidays and this week I want to share with you my. I already had a basic idea in my head of how I was going to smoke the turkey low and slow, indirect heat, a dry brine and spice rub to start, but I decided to take a look at our own published technique for pointers. Then I had a frightening realization In all the years weve been writing about Thanksgiving turkey, despite all the recipes for grill roasted turkeys cooked over relatively high heat, not once have we offered complete instructions for true low and slow, barbecue style smoked turkey. So I did the only sensible thing I brought home four turkeys and started testing, modifying our existing grilled spatchcocked turkey technique to work with lower heat, more smoke, and a spice rub to bring out more of those barbecue flavors. Oftentimes a Food Lab recipe will take dozens of tests and weeks of experiments to really nail, but this one turned out to be pretty straightforward, requiring only two solid days of smoking. There are actually just five keys to perfect smoked turkey Butterflying or spatchcocking the bird to help it cook more evenly and develop crisper skin. Dry brining the bird by rubbing it with salt or a spice rub that includes salt and letting it sit in the fridge for a few nights in order to allow the salt to work its way into the meat and loosen up its muscle structure, thus keeping it juicy as it cooks. Adding baking powder to the dry rub, which causes it to form tiny micro bubbles on the surface of the turkey as it roasts, adding surface area and enhancing the crispness of the skin. It also slightly raises the p. H of the surface, enhancing Maillard browning. Smoking Turkey Breast On Green Egg' title='Smoking Turkey Breast On Green Egg' />Slow cooking over indirect heat, with the legs pointed toward the heat source legs can handle higher heat than delicate breast meat can, in order to very gently and evenly cook the breast meat and give ample time for the turkey to build up smoky flavor. Carefully monitoring the turkeys internal temperature to ensure that the breast meat never gets above 1. F. Any higher than that, and it becomes chalky and dry. Despite government warnings to cook turkey to 1. F, turkey is perfectly safe to eat at 1. Smoking Turkey Breast Recipes' title='Smoking Turkey Breast Recipes' />Smoking Turkey Breast Brine RecipeF so long as it is properly checked with a thermometer and allowed to rest for at least four minutes before serving. Easy, rightMy wife made me take my clothes off outside so that our bedroom wouldnt smell like hickory. Well see if she gets any food on Thanksgiving. Check out the step by step gallery for complete instructions on smoking your turkey, read the FAQs below, or jump straight to the recipe. Should I brine my birdTOPDry brined meat is extra juicy. You could brine your bird, and it certainly will make your bird juicier, but it wont do anything in the flavor department. In fact, itll dilute the flavor of your turkey. Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly the substance. Barbecue turkey and grilled turkey taste spectacular, and there are tricks in this recipe that make it the ultimate turkey period, smoked or just oven roasted. Lets Talk Turkey Now I see lots of guys following a Great Recipe from Mad Max Beyond Eggdome. I put the link because it has definitely gotten such rave reviews it. Instead of a traditional wet brine, I recommend dry brining. Its easier, nearly as effective at helping maintain juiciness, and far better for flavor. To do it, just rub your turkey with salt and let it sit in the fridge overnight or up to three days. Thats it. In the case of a smoked turkey, I like to rub it with a spice rub that contains salt, which will work just as effectively while also adding spice flavor. Heres some more information on the mechanics and science of brining. Smoking Turkey Breast On Big Green EggWhat about injectingTOPUnlike brining or dry brining, in which only salt and water will really work their way into the meat, injecting can actually introduce other aromatic compounds, which makes it a useful way to get your turkey juicy without risk of diluting its flavor. If you want to inject, I suggest using a combination of chicken or turkey stock and melted butter, injected into various points throughout the breast. Can I smoke my turkey whole, or do I have to butterfly itTOPThis is a whole turkey. See how exposed that breast meat is, and how relatively protected the legs are When youre roasting a turkey in the oven, thats a major problem. But what about on the grill Butterflying or spatchcocking, if you want to use the cheekier term, is the best way I know of to roast a turkey more quickly and evenly to guarantee juicy breast meat, fully cooked legs, and crisp skin. On the grill, its benefits are not quite as obvious. In a roasting pan in the oven, the legs of the turkey are protected, and you inevitably end up overcooking the breast meat by the time the legs are done. But on a grill, the legs cook quite quickly, as they have more exposure to the heat. The main advantages that butterflying will get you on the grill are faster cooking it cuts cooking time down by about 3. Those factors alone make butterflying worth it in my book. I tried to spatchcock my turkey last year, but it was so darn difficult to cut through that bone Any suggestionsTOPToughen up, young grasshopper. No, seriously. I know it can be hard to get through those thigh bones sometimes. Sand Dollar Cookies. I have a few suggestions First, ask your butcher to do it for you. They have better equipment than you do and are used to handling raw meat. Barring that, your next best bet is to call in an airstrike Grab the cleaver and give it a few swift, firm, and precise hacks to get through those bones. Make sure to aim away from your thumb. Do I need to remove the wishboneTOPNo, not really. Its all just a question of convenience. Removing it before cooking the turkey will make carving it easier down the line, especially when youre trying to carve a hot, juicy turkey. Then again, some people are squeamish about raw poultry and would probably rather not stick their fingers into the cavity that the turkey used to breathe and eat and gobble out of. The choice is really yours, though I typically remove mine. Im tempted to try butterflying my bird, but Im worried about how untraditional it looks. What should I doTOPI get it. A whole spatchcocked turkey looks like it belongs on a pornography set rather than on your Thanksgiving table. But the trade off in terms of juiciness, even cooking, and crisp skin is worth the odd appearance. Besides, if you want to be civilized about it, youll be carving that turkey in the kitchen and serving it on a warmed platter anyway, right Right Should I use natural hardwood instead of briquettesTOPNo Natural hardwood burns quite unpredictably. More often than not, the coal is less dense than briquettes, and, with easier access to oxygen, it burns much faster and hotter. It wont give you the slow, steady, reliable burn that you need for controlled low temperature barbecue. What kind of wood is bestTOPI recommend using hickory. It has a milder flavor than, say, mesquite or applewood, which I find can overpower the flavor of the turkey. Its best to buy whole chunks of wood, which burn more slowly, adding sweet smoke flavor to your food as it slow cooks. Smoked Turkey Breast Recipe My. Recipes Bring cider and next 7 ingredients to a boil in a large stockpot or 8 qt. Dutch oven over medium high heat reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in ice. Cool completely 1 hour. Place turkey in brine cover and chill 5 to 1. Prepare smoker according to manufacturers directions, bringing internal temperature to 2. Place wood chunks on coals. Remove turkey from brine, and pat dry with paper towels. Smoke turkey, maintaining temperature inside smoker between 2. Remove turkey, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let stand 1.